Log-turner



2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

(No Model.)

B. SHELBOURNE.

LOG TURNER.

No. 341,951. Patented May 18, 1886.

WITNESSES (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

l R. W. SHELBOURNE.

LOG TURNER.

PA'rhr FFMEG ROBISOX \V. SHELBOURNE, OF BLANDVILLE, KENTUCKY.

LOG TURNER.

- PEGIPIGATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 341,951, dated May 18,1886.

(No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ROBISON TV. SHED BOURNE, of Blandville, in thecounty of Ballard and State of Kentucky, have invented a new andImproved Log-Turner for Saw-Mills, of which the following is a full,clear, and ex act description.

Myinvention relates to log-turning appara tus for saw-mills,and has forits object to facilitate the turning of the logs on the mill-can riage,and by devices acting automatically and all in ready command of thesawyer, so that the work may be done by the machinery ofthe mill andwithout using cant-hooks operated by hand, thereby economizing time andlabor.

The invention consists in certain novel constructions and combinationsof parts ofthe logturning apparatus, all as hereinafter fully describedand claimed.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings,forn'iingapartofthis specification, in which similar letters ofreference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure l is a plan view of a sawmill fitted with my log-turningapparatus. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional elevation taken throughthe sawmill carriage on the line a m, Fig. 1, and in larger size. Fig. 3is a transverse sectional elevation taken on the line 3 3 Fig. l, andshowing also parts of devices I employ for pushing thelog to themill-carriage; and Figs. 4, 5, and 6 are enlarged detail views ofportions of the log-turning devices.

The letter A indicates the cireularsaw ofthe mill, which is journaled byits shaft to in the saw-frame a, and the letter B indicates the shaftfrom which the carriage, thelog-turning head-block, hook, andpushing-arms, and inclined benches are operated, as hereinafterdescribed.

a is a frictionwheel, which is journaled so as to be in contact with thefriction-wheel a on the saw-shaft, and a is a friction-wheel, which hascone-pulleys a receivinga belt from cone-pulleys a on the saw-shaft a,said wheels a a" running continuously at opposite sides or faces of thefriction-wheel b, fixed on the driving-shaft B, which is fitted inadjustable bearings at b on the saw-frame, and isconnected to a lever,b, in reach of the sawyer, who may work the lever for throwing thewheel 1) against the frictionwheels m a, respectively, for feeding thelog to the saw and running back the carriage O by means of a pinion orgear-wheel, c, which is fast to a long sleeve, B, splined to the shaftB, so that gear-wheel a may be turned with shaft B at the proper time toengage a rack, c, on the under side of a rail, 0, fixed to the carriage,and as hereinafter more fully explained.

On the end of shaft B, beneath the carriageway, is fixed a half-clutch,13 which carries fixedly the bevel gear-wheel d, which meshes with thebevel gear-Wheel (1, fast on a shaft, D, which is journaled to suitableposts set in the ground orto supports fixed to the carriagebed. Thisshaft D connects by a universal joint, 6, a shaft, E, and a universaljoint, 6, with a shaft, E, which is jourualed in a frame, E, pivoted ate" to one of the carriagetracks or other fixed support. The shaft Ecarries the long fast pinion Efiwhich is adapted to engage a gear-wheel,E", fixed to ashaft, e, which is jourualed to the carriage headblock (1next the one 0 in which latter is fitted the knee F, in whichthelog-turningor cant hook F is arranged, as present-1y described.

To the farther end of the shaft e of gearwheel E is connected by auniversal joint, 9, the shaft G, which is fitted telescopically in atubular shaft, G, which in turn is connected by a universal joint, 9,with the shaft F journaled at the head of theknee F, and on which shaftF is fixed a pinion or gear-wheel, F, which meshes with a rack, f,formed along the back edge of the post f, to which the canthook F ispivoted at 1, the post f being fitted to slide vertically in the knee F,for raising the hook F and allowing it to fall. I make the cant-hook Fwith a long hook-point, f, to catch round logs or round faces ofpartlysquared logs, and with a shorter hook, f, to catch squared cornersof logs in turning them. The hook has a backwardly-bent upper arm,

f, on which is placed a weight, f", for swinging the hook-points outwardbeyond the face of the knee to catch on the log, and the headblock has acurved inward finish at the outer lower portion, as at f, on which thecurved back of the point f may strike as the hook swings downward at thefront of the headblock, and which at such times insures aback swing ofthe hook-points out of the path of the being made long, so that thewheel E on the' carriage will gear with it should the carriage not stopprecisely at the same place every time a log is to be turned.

For swinging the frame E upward on its hinge to engage the gears E E", Iemploy a two-armed crank, E, which is journaled in a fixed support, c,Fig. 3, and is connected by one arm to the frame and by its other arm toa rod, E, which connects to a crank-arm, e,

on one end of a rod, FF, which is journaled to suitable supports, andhas a foot-lever, e, in command of the sawyer,who may operate said leverto hold the gears E E in mesh as long as may be required to lift thehook F sufficiently for turning logs of different sizes, and as thehook-points f" are liable to stick in the log as it turns the lever bwill be operated just as the log is falling over on the benches,hereinafter described, to throw the frictionwheel I) away from thefriction-wheel a, by which contact the turning hook had been raised, andthe sawyer will throw the wheel 12 against the opposite friction-wheel,a, which has a quicker motion than the friction-wheel a, and reversesthe motion of the turninghook F, or moves it-downward' quickly todisengage the hook-point from the log just as the log falls over on thebenches, and drive the hook down and back into the recess in thehead-block made for it, and after the turninghook has been disengagedfrom the log, as above described, pressure on the lever 6 will berelaxed to allow the weight of the frame F to lower it and disengage thegears E E.

When the carriage is to be run either way, a hand-wheel, b", on a shaft,Z), journaled in the saw-frame will be turned in one direction to causea pinion, 11 on said shaft engaging an annular rack, b, on the sleeve B,to move the sleeve lengthwise on the shaft B, for engaging ahalf-clutch, If, on the end of the sleeve with the half-clutch head Bwhich is keyed or pinned to the shaft B and turns with it. Thehand-wheel and shaft b Z2 will be turned the other way for disengagingthe clutch b B to allow the carriage to remain at rest when thelog-turning hook, log-pushers, and inclined benches are to be operated,as hereinafter described.

The head-block knee F, which carries the cant-hook F, and the knees F"of all the other head-blocks O of the log-carriage are provided alikewith racks h, with which pinions h on a shaft, H, are adapted to engage,said shaft H being journaled in the carriage and carrying abevel-pinion, h which engages a bevel-pinion, W, on a short shaft, 71*,which is journaled across the carriage O, and carries at its outerorback end the wheel H,which has two rims, h h, adapted to engage therails H. H, respectively. A contact of the wheel-rim h with the rail Hwhich is lifted by link-connections and rack-and-pinion mechanism, opcrates to set the knees and log up toward the saw A in the first part ofthe forward run of the carriage, and the contact of the wheel-rim h withthe rail H" operates to back off the head-block knees, as required inturning the log, and as hereinafter more fully explained.

The mechanism for setting up the log and backing off the head blockknees is fully shown and described in Letters Patent No. 308,538,granted to me September 23, 1884, and it will suffice here to state thatthe backing-off rail H is connected by a crank-arm, h with a shaft, H,which is suitably journaled, and has a foot-lever, H near the sawyer,who may press the lever down as the carriage runs back, to cause thehacking off of the headblock-knees prior to and while turning the log,by means of the hook F and the push arms and benches, as presentlydescribed.

At I in Fig. 3 is shown the log-truck, which runs on tracks 2'2, andreceives the logs-to bring them into the mill, and opposite skids, J,and push-arm guide blocks K, which also serve as skids, onto and overwhich skids and blocks J K the logs are pushed by the heads I ofrack-bars I", which are operated by rackand-pinion mechanism at theother side of the logtruckway. These rack-bars I I" will not be hereinparticularly described, as they, with their operating mechanism andrelated parts, form the subject-matter of another application forLetters Patent filed of even date herewith.

Each of the blocks K is provided with two parallel lengthwise grooves,7c is, which range at right angles with the mill carriage O. In thegroove 7c of each block is fitted in grooves or ways k a rackbar, L,which has pivoted to its back or outer end at Z the arm M, which pushesthe log over by bearing on its outer face below its longitudinal centeras the log is raised at its rear side by the log-turning hook, ashereinafter more fully explained. Under the arm M is pivoted at n alever, N, which is forced upwardto the push-arm M by a spring, N, setinto a recess at the forward end of block K, said spring normallyholding the arm M up into position for action on the log in turning it,and allowing the arm, with the lever N, to be pressed down below the topof block K by the log as it falls. The lever N serves also as a supportand guide to the arm M when it is fully drawn back, as in Fig. 3.

In the groove of each block K is fitted to slide in a groove or way,It", a rack-bar, O, which at its forward end has hinged to it, as at p,a brace, P, the other end of which is hinged at p to a bar, R, which ispivoted at its forward end at r to the block K. (See Figs. 5 and 6.) v

To a shaft, S, which is journaled in suitable lever H to throw the railH wheel I) of driving'shaft B with hearings in the skids J and blocks K,are fixed a series of pinions, T, which engage the teeth Z0 of therack-bars L 0, respectively, and at diametrically opposite sides of thepinions, so that as the shaft S is turned the rackbars L 0 will be movedin reverse directions for operating the push-arms M and the logbenches PR, as presently explained.

As the pinions operating the rack-bars 0 run out of their racks 0 at theextreme back portions of the bars, and remain so while the push-arms Mare fully projected for turning the log, I have provided springs O, toact against the back ends, 0, of the bars 0 to force these bars forward,so that their racks 0 will be engaged by the pinions T on the re versemotion of the shaft S, for moving back the puslrarins M and lowering thebenches P R, as hereinafter more frilly described.

Motion is given shaft S by means of a gearwheel, 8, on it, meshing witha gear-wheel, u, on the outer end of a shaft, U, which is journaled inthe saw-frame a, and in one of the skids J, and is capable of endwisemovement, and on the other end of shaft U is fixed a bevel-gearwheel,V,which is adapted to mesh with the bevelgear wheel V, fast on thedriving-shaft B,which may be rotated in opposite directions by thefriction-wheels b a a, as hereinbefore explained.

The hub of gearwheel V has a suitable con nection with a lever, W, whichis pivoted at 10 to the saw-frame,to cause the gear-wheel V to beengaged with the gear-wheel V when a rod, \V, fixed to the free end ofthe lever WV,

is drawn upon,the handle 20 of said rod being within easy reach of thesawyer, and when the rod W" is pushed back the gears V V will bedisengaged to disconnect shafts S B, to allow the other mechanism of themill to be operated for moving the carriage.

The operation of the log-turning mechanism isas follows: W'hilethelog-oarriage is being run back after the last out through the log,prior to turning it,and during the last part of the back movement of thecarriage, the sawyer will press against the rim h" of friction-wheel Hto back off the head blocks,to carry the overhanginglower corner of thelog on which it turns in upon the head blocks. The sawyer then willoperate handwheel I) to move sleeve B to disconnect the clutch b B", toallow the carriage to rest, and then he will operate the foot-lever e toraise the hinged frame E to throw the pinion E into gear with the wheelE, which will give motion to pinion F, to raise the cant-hook F to turnthe log, and meanwhile the sawyer will draw on lever \V, to engage thegears V V, and also will operate lever N, to engage the thefrictionwheel a, to rotate shaft S and its pinions T in direction of thearrows in Figs. 3 and 6, and cause the pnsh-arms M to be projectedagainst the lower portion of the log, to push it back as the hook Flifts the log, and

to the shaft of said whereby the log will be turned so as to fall on thebenches R, which had been raised as the push arms M were thrust forward,and thelog will press down the arms M without injuring them. The benchesR are supported against the shocks of the log on them in falling by theimpact of the back ends of the slides 0 against shoulders 0 on the guideblocks K. The partly turned log will slide by its gravity down theinclined benches R, onto the mill carriage, being thereby fully turnedready to be dogged to the headblocks, whereupon the motion of shaft Swill be reversed by throwiug the wheel 1) against the friction-wheel a",for simultaneously lowering the benches R, and drawing back the pusharms M to the positions shown in Figs. 3 and 6, and the lever W will bepushed back to disengage the gears V V, and the set-works H H H will beoperated to set the dogged log to the saw by shifting the head blocks,the sleeve B being moved by operating handwheel I)" to engage thecarriage rack by the pinion c, as before described, and all is ready forthe next cut through the log. The telescopingshaft G G allows thehead-blocks to be shifted lengthwise of the carriage to accommodate logsof different lengths, and meanwhile maintain operative connections withthe cant-hook F, as above described.

Havingthus described myinvention, Iclaim as new and desire tosecurebyLetters Patent-- 1. A log-turning apparatus for saw-mills, comprisinga cant'hook hung to a bar vertically movable in one of the headblockknees and provided with a rack, a pinion on the knee gearing with saidrack, a shaft coupled to the shaft of said pinion and to a gear-wheelmounted in an adjacent head-block and adapt ed to be geared with apinion which is connected by shafts and pinions with the drivingshaft,and push-arms fitted to slide in. guideblocks arranged transversely tothe carriage, and mechanism, substantially as described, for operatingsaid push arms from the drivingshaft, substantially as herein set forth.

2. A log-turning apparatus for saw-mills, comprising a cant-hook hung toa bar vertitically movable in one of the headblook knees and providedwith a rack, a pinion on the knee gearing with said rack, a shaftcoupled pinion and to a gear-wheel mounted in an adjacent head-blockand. adapted to be geared with a pinion which is connected by shafts andpinions with the driving shaft. push-arms fitted to slidein guide-blocksarranged transversely to the carriage, folding benches comprisingbarslinked to slides fitted in guideblocks and adapted to be set up ininclined positions to receive the turning log, and mechanism,substantially as described, for operating said push-arms and benchesfrom the drivingshaft, substantially as herein set forth.

8. In log-turning apparatus for sawmills, the cant-ho0k F, pivoted to abar adapted to slide vertically in a knee of one of the headblocks,andprovided with long and short hookpoints f J, substantially as herein setforth.

. 4. In log-turning apparatus for saw-mills, the combination, with thecant-hook F, pivoted to the rack-slide f, fitted in a head-block knee,and provided with hook-points and a rearwardly-extending arm, f, of theweight f, substantially as herein set forth.

5. In log-turning apparatus for saw-mills, the combination, with thehead-block 0*, having an inclined or rounded face, f, at its inner endportion, of the head-block knee F and the weighted cant-hook F, pivotedto a slide, f, fitted in the head-block knee, substantially asdescribed, whereby the hook will be forced inward as it falls to clearthe saw, as set forth.

6. In log-turning apparatus for saw-mills, the combination, with thepush-arms M, pivoted to slides fitted in guide-blocks K, of the leversN, pivoted to the guide-blocks, and the springs N, and mechanism foroperating said slides, substantially as herein set forth.

7. In log-turning apparatus for saw-mills, the combination, with thepush-arms M, pivoted to slides L, having racks Z, and fitted inguide-blocks K, of the shaft S, having pinions T, meshing with racks Z,substantially as herein set forth.

8. In a log-turning apparatus, the combination, with the head-blockhaving a vertically-sliding cant-hook, of a guide-block in front of thecant-hook, a folding bench on said guide-block, and mechanism foroperating said hook and bench, substantially as set forth.

9. In a logrturning apparatus, the combination, with avertically-adjustable cant-hook, of a guide-block in front of the same,a folding bench on said guide-block, a sliding pusher mounted on theguide-block parallel with the bench, and mechanism for operating thecant-hook, bench, and pusher, substantially as and in the manner setforth.

10. In a log-turning apparatus, the guideblock and the folding bench, incombination with the sliding pusher, also on said guideblock, and ashaft and gearing for simultaneously operating said bench and pusher,substantially as set forth.

11. In log-turning apparatus for saw-mills, the combination,with theguide-blocks K, the shaft S, and pinions T, below said blocks, of theslides 0, having racks 0 on their under sides, meshing with the pinionsT, the benches It, pivoted at r to the guide-blocks, and the braces P,hinged at their ends to the slide 0 and benches It, substantially as setforth.

12. In log-turning apparatus, the combination, with the guide-blocks K,the shaft S,

below the same, and the pinions T, of the rack-slides O 0, operated bysaid pinions, the springs O on the guides in rear of the slides, thebenches R, pivoted at r to the guides, and the braces P, hinged at p pto the slides and benches, substantially as set forth.

13. In a log-tnrning apparatus, the combination, with the guide-blocksK, having ways formed therein, and shoulders O at the rear ends of saidways, of the slide-racks O 0 in said ways in front of the shoulders, thebenches It, hinged at r to the guide-blocks,

the braces P, hinged atp p to the slides and benches, theoperating-shaft S and pinions T, meshing with the racks of the slides,substantially as set forth.

14. The combination, with the log-turning mechanism, and thedrivingshaft S. and pinions T therefor, of the shaft U, having a pinion,a, meshing with a pinion, s, on the end of shaft S, and a bevel-gear, V,the shaft B, the bevel-gear V thereon, adapted to mesh with thebevel-gear V, and. means forthrowing the bevcl-gears V V into and out ofengagement, substantially as set forth.

15. The combination, with the log-turning mechanism, the driving-shaftS, and pinions T,for operating the same, of the shaft U, having apinion, a, on one end meshing with a pinion, s, on said shaft S, and abevel-gear,V, on its other end, the lever W, connected with the gear V,the operating-rod WV, for operating the lever W, and the shaft B, havingagearwheel, V, adapted to be engaged by the bevelgear V through themedium of the rod VVand lever W, substantially as set forth.

ROBISON W. SHELBOURNE.

Witnesses: '&

BEN FLINT, W. F. HAwEs.

